Who do you want?

I'm ready to Row the Boat.

Dabo Swinney
John Gruden
Les Miles
Mark Richt

if that is Pj Fleck reference, I doubt he would leave Minnesota 8 months after getting the job, also bet he has a huge buyout.

might as well throw Peter Pan and Count Chocula on the list

Gruden

A new AD to do the hiring. I think you'd have to look at what Stoops has done at Kentucky but I'm really not sure there is anyone available that I think gives you 10 wins a year and competes for the west with Alabama. That's what I'd expect from a program like Auburn.

The west is almost as weak as the East now with the exception of Alabama and Auburn should be able to make it a two horse race with the right coach. Who that is I'm not sure.

Until Saban starts to slip or decides to retire I don't think anyone will replace Alabama as the top program in the SEC but Auburn should be on their heels if they get a solid coach and recruiter.

By the past hiring process, neblitt. LOL. keep gustard and his H.S. offense.

AU should hire Dan Mullen before he writes a book.

He would be my #1 pick at BAMA when the day comes.

But he's not a proven highschool coach.

But I thought Dabo was "coming home"?

Prbly she'll call when Saban is ready to pass the reins.

Fleck would leave those bitches in a heartbeat. Jeff Brohm would also get a strong look.

Who's gonna come to the sec west knowing that that'll have to compete with Saban?

I don't see any reason Dabo would ever leave Clemson. He's got it dialed in there and I don't see the run of being a premier program ending anytime soon. I guess "if" he ever did leave, Bama would be on his short list if available or sought him out. Just don't see it though.

Im just not a huge pj fleck fan, I think being a rah-rah coach can only last so long before it starts to wear off. Hard to imagine him keeping that up as he gets older, and who knows he may not have to if he's good enough X's and O's

Any coach with an ego. Auburn has played for two titles with Saban in the same state.

You aint getting that at Minnesota......

But by the time auburn pays Gus to leave, and pays Minnesota to get him out of contract, they won't have any money left for Juco QBs

And how many has Saban played in? How many players has Saban put in the pros compared to the college down the road? And yes Dabo will come to BAMA.

I hear probst is the front runner

Or coach smith from podunk. Bawahaa

You really think he would be interested in a lateral move?

Dabo has told friends privately that he hates Tuscaloosa s a city. Too many stray bullets and ballers named sweet T.

And can't turn around for all the crystal trophies.

Someone appears to be a closet Aubie.

I like Scott Frost at UCF

Who's appearing to be an aubie? I've got a lot of money invested in Bama so yea I can talk trash

Hell, I live here and I hate it....what's your point?

Lane Kiffin will be AU's next head coach

IF... Gus is canned, I hope they interview that crazy wife of his.

The best hire would probably be Mullet Gundy. The SEC coaches meeting in Destin would be a party again.

Dog track?

What does it say about AU that I wouldn't hate this at all?

Seriously, he likes where he is for all the right reasons, but I would put Ken Nackanackalolo, (no way I know to spell it, sorry), at Navy on my list to be considered. Great guy and does a phenomenal job with what he has.

Niumatalolo

I suspect a Mormon in Auburn would go over like a turd in a punch bowl

Saturday evening I had dinner in Nashville and two women beside me were from Nebraska. This is the exact conversation:

"Where are y'all from?"

"Omaha. And the Huskers lost today. They're not looking good. Could be a long season."

(Me) Yes, I heard they lost. Riley's having a tough time. They got rid of a really good coach ...

"He probably dropped a few too many F-bombs. But he won games."

(Me) Well, basically saying publicly that "if the AD wants to fire me to go ahead" probably didn't sit too well with the AD.

"They needed to fire the AD."

I had to bite my tongue from laughing because that was coming from about a 50ish-year-old. She was NOT happy about her beloved Huskers. The 20-something brunette with her was just nodding in agreement.


Bo Pelini would be a good hire for AU, but similar to Gruden he'd probably tell some boosters or trustees to kiss his butt and not worry about any consequences.

Gruden
Pelini
Stoops - can't hurt to call
Sean Payton - couldn't hurt to call

They'll probably hire some FCS hotshot who goes 8-32 before they fire him, though.

Um ... scratch Pelini from any possible list:

http://footballscoop.com/news/bo-pelini-plays-convicted-rapist-malik-richmond/

Geez. The guy gives zero fu*ks about what his bosses say. Dang.

I'm sure Clemson is thug free.

Nobody mentioned Dan Mullen? He's done a pretty good job at MSU with what he's had to work with. IMO he's the 2nd best coach in the SEC.

Dr. B

And making $5.1M.

That goes a long way in Starkvegas

You'd have to hate AU to turn the program over to that guy. He'd have AU fans begging Lou Holtz to take the job and he'd have every high school girl in Auburn on speed dial .

If they want to be a contender I say pay whatever it would take to get James Franklin.

No doubt he can coach but can he recruit in the top 10 consistently? I have no clue if he is an elite level recruiter but I know it will take one to stay competitive.

You, sir, can go phuck yoself

Silly auburn fans. Y'all know this hire will be screwed up too. A few years ago all you guys were delusional and expected to hire a big name. Auburn hired Chizik who had a 5-19 record at Iowa State. To give a little credit he did win auburns only natty in my lifetime. Here's the funny part. He was fired for losing. Auburn hired a guy with a 5-19 record and fired him for losing.

This will be a fun season on Aldeer.

If they pay Gus the $6.7 million and pay off the rest of the staff, then have to pay big bucks to settle the Title IX lawsuit and all the rest of the payoffs they already have on the books they will do good to get Gardner or Steele.

Gruden aint happening
Dabo-not a chance
Richt- yea right
Sean Payton-nope
Stoops aint happening unless his first name is Mark.
Gundy ain't happening
James Franklin no chance
Mullen may interview, but only to get a raise at his current job.
Les Miles would take the job in a heart beat, but the Fambly would be to proud to hire him.
I'll save ya'll the time before you even mention Jimbo Fisher again-NOPE
Even guys like Gary Patterson wouldn't be interested.
Chris Petersen wouldn't take a glance at the Auburn job.

They better start looking for that young hot shot because I doubt they get an established HC if they can Gus. I would just be patient and give Gus a few years, they are real close.

Im not an Auburn Fan but if Gus gets canned. I would Think Mike Norvell would be worth looking into

Well hypothetically... If we can't get a big name FBS coach, and I was doing the hiring search, id look at John Grass at JSU or the guy at James Madison. Not saying they'd be a great choice but they have produced results at the FCS level.

And just because I'm a Huntingdon Alumni, I'd say Coach Turk will get the boys ready.

Seriously, if Gus gets gone, what about the D coordinator? Seems he has the defense looking good, not sure how well he could do at HC but seems like a logical choice.

If Auburn starts looking for a new coach, they would be best off to completely clear the slate of possibly hiring anyone already within the Fambly. Secondly, they should clear house of all the Old Fambly that's just hangin around( that should probably be the first move)

What about Venables

Steele may be the only guy Auburn could hire that would make hiring 5-19 Chizik seem like a great choice.

Steele's previous head coaching experience is 4 years at Baylor. He went 9-36 (1-31 in conference play).

There you go ;that's thinking outside the box, I mean they hired a guy from Samford, why not.

I reckon I'd have to agree. I haven't liked our coaching choices since they fired Tubberville.

Gary Patterson would be high on my list...,.

Auburn will hire Freeze. They need a coach that can beat Alabama.

We are talking about now.

Not 2005

Pj fleck is a weird dude. I wouldn't want him as my teams hc. That being said he would be a great fit down on the plains. Row your on freakin boat!! Art briles would complement the softball program nicely. Seriously I don't know who is out there that would be better than gus.

I didn't realize the Navy coach was a Mormon, but since he apparently does a good job of keeping that from being an issue, that wouldn't bother me.

To be clear, I'm not for firing coaches in the middle of the season, so I'm all for seeing how the season plays out, but I do agree that certain things were expected to change offensively and it doesn't look like they have, so....come what may, later.

Third page and I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Tubby is available. When he had a fire in his belly, he was a pretty good coach. The question is, can he ever get the fire back?

I saw someone interviewing him the other day, he seemed overly bitter and petty when getting asked about Alabama's success. I doubt he ever amounts to much going forward.

Chip Kelly? Not a mention from anyone ?

Pj flecks wife is a smoke show.

Mike Norvell and Neal Brown would be on my list. It's going to have to be a younger up an coming coach willing to take a shot on a coaching upgrade. No established coach at a P5 team is going to walk into the buzzsaw of Saban. Don't think that's true? See the current state of the sec.

I think she was a boosters wife, and his first wife left him over it

(It's been a while, so not sure details, but remember it being something like that)

I did on the first page. Can't you see?

I think Coach O is going to be available. Soon.

Another great coordinator that just can't pull it off, seemingly as of today, as the head man.

Here's the thing... auburn will go 9-3 or 8-4. Only teams left that can beat that defense are MSU, Jawja, and Bammer. I'm not saying they all will, but they can. Can auburn fire Gus after a 9-3 or 8-4 season?

My next door neighbor is Dabo's best friend. I will ask him one day soon and let y'all know what he thinks.

Bama would

Bout time to move up to those +1.75 readers I guess!

Dr. B

the city is trying to improve their image, they passed an ordinance not allowing indoor furniture to be used on front porches

If he loses to both Jawja and bammer again the outcry will be too hard to ignore. 9-3 having beat at least one of the two and he'll survive on the hope that he will learn where he has being going wrong.

I think LSU is the only school that has a more stupid AD than Jacobs. Orgeron has a $12 million buyout on his contract.
I don't think Kelly will ever be a coach at auburn as long as Dye is drawing a breath.

I think Joe Alleva is fairly well respected in his profession

I hope he and Orgeron stay respectable at LSU for at least another decade. That'll keep Bama on a roll.

Hell yea, bring on the Mormon. During the off season he can have the players going door to door on bicycles!!

I agree. AU will only be able to hire an unproven coach who may or may not be the next Dabo Sweeney. No way AU attracts a proven winner. Except maybe Les Miles, but that probably wouldn't happen.

Given all the negative press that AU has dealt with lately, firing Gus is not in their best interests right now.

I don't think Orgeron has ever been a defensive coordinator. Career DL coach.

That's the same situation Alabama was in and the same thing Auburn fans were saying about that job. It was so bad Mike Riley turned it down. With enough money and complete control promised they got who they wanted. If Auburn got rid of their problems and opened up the check book they could attract a good coach. The problem I see is that there isn't a big name available. Regardless of what Timbercruiser says every time Auburn is searching for a coach of any kind, money has never been an issue.

Last year we where having the same conversation. Good jobs open and not enough good coaches. It was a bad time to fire Gus....I thought. Clem made the statement something to the effect that it is that way every year. Made me think and yes Clem is right. Sometimes the school just has to do it.

The barners will go after Chip Kelley really hard, if they fire Gus.

Yep. Just wishful thinking bama fans wanting AU to aim low.

Auburn is a top 10 job. Period.

Period? Which one is out for auburn to be in? There can only be 10.
(no order)

Florida State
Georgia
Michigan
Ohio State
Alabama
Texas
USC
LSU
Florida

I don't even know that they are in next 5.

Clemson
Notre Dame
Texas A&M
Oregon
Oklahoma

Auburn would be in the next 5.

Quite the imagination.

Blinded by the Bama light.

Nobody has mentioned Clay Helton.
USC HC. QB developer. Makes around $4 mil.
Played at Auburn. HAS WINNING RECORD AS A HC. Football family. (son of Kim Helton)
Has ties all over the country for recruiting.
Even HS ties at Stephensville, Tx.
Worth a look.

(USC is a better job than Auburn. Its amazing that has to be said out loud)

He's a southern boy from Gainesville Florida. Plus he attended AU and Houston. Probably would take the job to get back on the right side of the country.

Is amazing that someone (jb) thinks that.
Wearing a flack jacket to practice?
Cost of living.
Southern boy in that town.
Pat Haden.
Lives in the minds of "has beens."
Btw, I did say "worth a look."
And don't know condition of facilities now, but they were bad at one time.
Jb, you aren't in touch with football, are you? (Don't even believe I'm saying that out loud)

In many coaches eyes "better" is relative to $$$$$. No doubt USC has more tradition and a better recruiting base but $4mil in Cali won't go nearly as far as it will in the South. He'll have an easier time off it at USC and there are a lot of coaches that wouldn't want the challenge of going head to head with Saban every year, I'm sure. Auburn is top 15 all time in wins and has overpaid every football coach they've had since Dye so I'm sure they'd throw the checkbook at a really good coach if they wanted to take on that challenge. Auburn wants to win I just don't think their administration knows the formula to do it at a high level , consistently.

Well said Leroy and Bill.

Auburn is a better job than UGA, ND,and Oregon.

When has UGA done anything even in a pathetically weak east? ND has recruiting issues (standards), and Oregon (give me a break).

It was better than Clemson pre Dabo, and I would argue better than A&M from a history perspective. That being said, A&M has unlimited resources and is the better job now.

Don't believe me? Malzhan has recruited inside the top 10 for the last 5 years. And this is WITH SABAN in the same state knocking out number classes. A capable coach could come here and win BIGLY!

Definitely worth a look.

You're right, I know nothing

Haden retired from USC last year. Maybe he's their Pat Dye and still runs things behind the scenes though...I don't know. But, he is the one who gave the job to Helton, so I'm not sure Helton sees Pat Haden as the "problem" that many did/do...and I was one of those people.

That said, the biggest thing I see missing from your list is "opportunity to succeed"...which is much greater at USC than it is at Auburn RIGHT NOW.

Agree to disagree on Georgia and Oregon. Both are better jobs IMO. And I'm not talking historical perspective, i'm talking right now quality of the job. Georgia's recruiting base and sole ownership of the state alone is invaluable (IMO again), same as LSU

Notre Dame I'll agree isn't what it once was

I think the PAC-12 is 2-0 vs SEC west teams.

I dont see the SEC as harder to succeed outside of having to play bama.

The AAC is 2-0 vs the PAC12,.... fwiw

I think it would be after the season before anything is done to Gus, if then. I think Jacobs time is getting shorter tho.

Yep. LOTS of rumors about Jacobs being canned very soon.

What if Gus mysteriously disappeared?
Joke, joke. No plans yet.

what about bobby patrino?

The sunshine pumpers are hard at it today. Auburn is a top job, Cowart didn't like football, and Sean White was a problem child. The delusion is strong today. Something about rats and a sinking ship come to mind.

We listened to y'all for years telling us how the only reason Chizik won a natty was because of Gus Barfield. Now y'all are saying his offense sucks?

Quick question... so far in this thread I've read where auburn is a top 10 job or higher and that the pockets are deep and auburn wouldn't mind paying for a top coach. So explain why auburn has been able to land top coaches like Terry Bowden, Tuberville, Gene Chizik, and Gus Barfield? Did any of those have winning records in division 1 football when auburn hired them? Other than the offensive genius are any of those top coaches still coaching?

Auburn fans think they're a Ohio State, USC, ALABAMA type of program, when in reality their a Kentucky, Tennessee, Ole Miss type program, Tommy Tuberville has been the best coach they have ever had up there

KMA, Brent!

Brent,
Just drop the mic, turn around, and walk off the stage.

Preach it, Brent, Preach it.